WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Monday elected Vicky Hartzler as its Chair for 2025-2026. USCIRF Commissioners also elected Asif Mahmood as the Vice Chair.
“USCIRF is a vital part of the United States’ foreign policy efforts to promote religious freedom. This human right is enshrined in both our own constitution and in international law, but even more fundamentally, it is etched in the heart of every person,” said Chair Hartzler. “It is an honour to serve as chair, and I will work with Vice Chair Mahmood and the other Commissioners, continuing our bipartisan efforts to advance this right for everyone and everywhere abroad. I am grateful to outgoing Chair Stephen Schneck and Vice Chair Meir Soloveichik for their staunch and compassionate leadership. I also extend my thanks to former Commissioner Susie Gelman for her work and whose term concluded this past month,” he added.
According to a press note, Chair Hartzler was appointed to USCIRF by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in 2024. Before her appointment, she served as the congresswoman for Missouri’s fourth congressional district from 2011 to 2023. While in Congress, she served on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) and “adopted” three Chinese pastors imprisoned for their faith through the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. She also sponsored “The Combating the Persecution of Christians in China Act” and co-sponsored the “Uyghur Stop Oppressive Sterilisation (SOS) Act.”
Vice Chair Mahmood was appointed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in 2024. He is currently a practicing physician who lives in California. He is also a human rights activist, an inter-racial and inter-faith community organiser, and a philanthropist, leading advocacy campaigns on human rights in South Asia. He is a Board Member of Hope the Mission, one of the largest homeless shelters in California.
“Working for freedom of religion or belief is as important now as it has ever been. It requires concerted efforts from across the political spectrum and USCIRF’s bipartisan composition places it at the core of those efforts,” said Vice Chair Mahmood. “We must not let up in our work to recommend and advocate for policy in the US government to help people live freely according to the dictates of their conscience. I look forward to continuing to do that with fellow commissioners, including Commissioners Stephen Schneck and Meir Soloveichik.”
